অনসুল কুমার ভাষান্তর- বিধান চন্দ্র দাস “এটা ঐতিহাসিক ভাবে সত্য যে ব্রাহ্মণ সবসময়ই অন্যান্য শ্রেণীদের সহযোগী হয়েছে এবং তারা তাদের তখনই শাসক শ্রেণীর মর্যাদা দিয়েছে, যখন সেই শ্রেণীগুলো তাদের অধীনে থেকে সহযোগিতা করতে রাজি হয়েছে। প্রাচীন এবং মধ্যযুগে এই রকম জোট তারা করত ক্ষত্রিয় অথবা যোদ্ধা শ্রেণীদের সঙ্গে এবং দুজনে মিলে রাজত্ব করত বাকি জনগণের …
The Ruling Caste’s changing priorities and the Farmer Unrest
Anshul Kumar “History shows that the Brahmin has always had other classes as his allies to whom he was ready to accord the status of a governing class provided they were prepared to work with him in subordinate co-operation. In ancient and medieval times he made such an alliance with the Kshatriyas or the …
Old is Gold
Shell Shield (This poem has been penned based on urban life settings browsed over from newspapers, heard on corporate floors and in hostels) His storyHe loved her, and she used himShe demanded – this, that and what notHe gave her all, and debt piledIn the end, she leftHe had no thread to tie her …
Appropriating Guru Ravidas – Ignorance is bliss for Hindu Education Foundation, USA
Pardeep Attri In its recent demands of edits to the Instructional Quality Commission (which acts as an advisory body to the State Board of Education. California), the Hindu Education Foundation (HEF) sought that the Bhakti saints like [Guru] Ravidas and the Alvars be added to the list of examples. As per HEF, this was …
The Brahmin Problem
Anu Ramdas “That which is not destroyed when the upadhis of time, space, and causation are destroyed, is Brahman, the immortal Reality.*” The foundational belief system of the Brahmins as per their own foundational texts is unapologetically supremacist. When confronted, one expects the present day brahmin with stakes in rational thought to readily agree …
What is wrong with Bhagvad Gita? (Part III)
Rahul Bhalerao Continued from here. To the question ‘what do Karma and Guna exactly mean according to Gita?’ a generic and philosophical meaning is proffered as the answer. According to this response, Karma is any act or deed, be it good or bad, which in turn produces good Karma or bad Karma respectively. But, irrespective …
What is wrong with Bhagvad Gita? (Part II)
Rahul Bhalerao Continued from here. Coming back to the justifications given by the supporters of Gita, one finds that they are merely based on a few ambiguous individual verses scattered around the Gita. They certainly lack the holistic understanding and message that Gita preaches; let alone the interpretations that have evolved in practice since the …
Neobrahmanism, human rights and social democracy
Braj Ranjan Mani (First published in 2009) The image of India is that of a democratic, multicultural, inclusive society. But more often than not, appearances are not reality. India is a republic—a secular, socialist, democratic republic—where millions of children, women and men remain demoralised, enslaved to the powerful, crying out for fundamentals of life. Fragmented …
Caste in India
Gail Omvedt [Written in the year 2008] (A Reply to the Hindu Council of UK essay on “The Caste System”) * I owe thanks to Michael Witzel for his note citing Vedic references on caste and his careful reading of an earlier version of this essay. Introduction The essay submitted by the Hindu Council of …